The exciting extra-inning matchup where the Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a combined 51M viewers across the United States, Canada, and Japan territories. MLB reported this is the highest-rated Fall Classic finale since the 1991 contest between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable game averaged 27.33M audience members on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and their digital services. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the previous week.
It also stands as the most-watched World Series matchup after the 2017 Game 7 between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This marks a 16% increase compared to the previous Game 7 featuring the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed 4th, Game 4 ranked seventh, the fifth game came in eighth, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth place.
Global Viewership Figures
In Canada, the climactic game recorded over 11 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English program in the country since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final game began at 9 PM local time, it averaged 12 million. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – where Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto gave up a single run in six innings – averaged 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series game on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Totals and Patterns
The entire seven-match World Series drew over 15.7 million audience members on Fox, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded audience increases for two straight years.
Counting the Game 1 telecast on the Univision network, the complete US average reached 16.1 million. The overall World Series average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1M in Canada.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew 8.09 million watchers, an eight percent rise over the previous year and the network’s best postseason ratings after 2017.
MLB reported that the World Series was televised in over 200 nations and regions by 44 broadcasting partners in sixteen different languages.
